edawstwin on 3/6/2002 at 18:13

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I bought Morrowind yesterday and played for about 4-5 hours. I did quite a bit of just looking around, but I also did several quests and killed a few creatures. I am still level 1 (only 20% of the way to level 2) and have a reputation of zero. I see people posting that they are level 50 in 25 hours or something ridiculous like that, and I'm wondering what's going on. I usually am not the powergamer type (level, Level, LEVEL!), but at this rate It'll be months before I'm even level 10. I'm a pretty experienced RPGer (played the original Wizardry on my 8088 and an unknown number since), so this is frustrating.

I'm playing a Healer (which may be my problem) and I can't kill any humans yet. Maybe I just suck at real time combat, but switching between spells and fighting isn't fast enough, and my spells are too weak to kill anything stronger than a rat. I couldn't kill the guy in the beginning city in that cave near the Strider, and now I'm having problems with the summoner on the bridge in the Dwemer Puzzle Box Quest. I buff myself fully before fights, but it doesn't seem to make any difference (tried with and without buffs, and I die about the same time).

Does this game "scale" the fights to your level, or do you have to be a certain level for each quest? Also, I have no idea how much I'm hurting my opponents. It would be nice to have some indication so that I know if I need just a little more training, or have to come back in a few levels. Is there anything in the game that shows the opponent's HPs, or at least a condition meter, or something similar?

Since I usually like to play Healer types, am I just screwed at the beginning? Do I need a melee type to make the fights easier?

Fat Burrick on 3/6/2002 at 19:54

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The robe of st roris is totally overpowered. I used it for about a day, but just got completely bored, nothing could kill me and fights were just a case of hitting the creature/person until they fell, not even bothering pumping up beforehand with spells and potions, or checking my health at all. It is actually part of the Hlaalu quest later on, where you give it away, so I thankfully got rid of it.

On to your original question, if you're finding the guy at the bridge quite tough, I would suggest training your short blade/long blade/axe/whatever skill up, and raising a few levels to get your health up to help you. You level by raising a MAJOR or MINOR skill 10 times (any combination of skills) and NOT a MISC skill. Misc skills determine the multipliers you get for leveling up (read the manual, or search these forums for a more detailed explanation if you're unsure about this)

The good thing about Morrowind is there are many different ways to approach a situation. Raising your attack skills and getting levels up is probably the easiest way of progressing, but as you said you were a healer I suspect your skills may not be attack-orientated. However there are still lots of ways to get past the guy on the bridge, and other situations where you are faced with an enemy that will kill you easily. For example, if you have a high sneak skill, or have a potion of invisibility, you could sneak past him. Or sneak past him and rain down arrows or bolts on him if your marksman skill is good enough. Paralyzation is a VERY useful spell, and you can buy a Dwemer jinksword in the Balmora fighters guild that will cast paralyze for 10 seconds on strike, usually more than enough time to switch to another sword/attacking spells and pummeling the guy. Count up to about 7 seconds and switch back to the jinksword and hit him again. Rinse and repeat. It's nasty but VERY effective.

Try looking at the situation from different angles and see what you can come up with. Oh, and have fun with the rest of the game! :)

edawstwin on 5/6/2002 at 19:29

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Tuco: I can say it will take as long as I like. I don't play the game 10 hours a day, or even 10 hours a week. So at the rate I am seeing, it will be months before I'm level 10. I was just asking some general questions, which you ignored. Please don't criticize people until you know what you're talking about (or at least until you can sound like you do).

Fat Burrick: Thanks for the advice, especially about the sword - I think I will try that. I knew *how* to level, I just didn't know why it was taking so long.

I've switched to a Crusader for now. I'm finding that I am pretty effective with a Dai-Katana and a 50 Long Blade skill. An Iron Shortsword with a 30 skill (my Healer) just wasn't cutting it.

Damodred on 6/6/2002 at 00:46

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You're playing a healer and you can't kill people. That's your problem right there :) In MW, you level by doing what you specialized in (I believe 10 skill increases in your primary skills get you a level), and at first you pretty much suck at everything. Your magic fizzles, your arrows miss, your sword swings far and wide and if it connects, well...the opponents usually laff at you.

Some opponents are scaled to your level, but they are usually scripted places. Most of it is scaled by where you go - so if you find yourself over your head, well...try going elsewhere.

There is no hitpoint meter. Fortunately (that's personal opinion of course). For me, it adds that feeling of "oh crap, I'm gonna die", just about constantly. Play enough and you'll start getting a feel for how tough the bad guy is gonna be. I mean, were you gonna save that extra hard sword swing for something, or what?

Sounds like you figured it out, basically. That 50 in long blade should help you out nicely. Thing is, at first you're fighting small fry and your skills go up appropriately...reach about level 5, and the next 10 or so come very very fast...the beginning's very slow. You might want to invest in a bow and maybe some marksmanship for that guy on the bridge :)

D.